Police Say A Texas Teenager Killed Three Boys At a Gas Station. His Father Is Now Guilty Of Murder.

A Texas father was convicted of murder after prosecutors said he drove his son to a convenience store and the teenager allegedly committed a triple homicide.

A jury recently convicted Richard Acosta, 34, of capital murder in connection with the shooting deaths of Xavier Gonzalez, 14, Rafael Garcia, 17, and 16-year-old Ivan Noyala in Garland on the evening of Dec. 26, 2021, Fox News reported.

At trial, prosecutors police claimed Acosta “cased” the store and waited in his Dodge Ram truck while his son allegedly shot the three other teenagers to death.

Testifying in his own defense, Acosta claimed he believed his then-14-year-old son, Abel, only wanted to speak with two of the victims about an allegedly stolen necklace, KTBC reported.

"My purpose was to go in and grab two packs of Tylenol my wife needed. That was it, nothing more," Acosta told the court on Feb. 9.

"I thought he was going to ask them a question, the whereabouts of his necklace. Nothing that alarmed me," Acosta said.

Acosta claimed if he had known his son allegedly was armed, he “would’ve tried to do something.”

“I would've tried to stop any situation if he was trying to harm somebody," he said.

After gunfire erupted in the gas station, Acosta said his son jumped in their truck.

"He says, ‘Go, get out. Somebody is shooting. Get me out of here,’" Acosta claimed.

Never miss a story — sign up for the Front Page Detectives newsletter. Be on the scene the moment news breaks.

Following the deadly incident, Acosta’s son disappeared and still remains at large. The father said he doesn’t know where the teenager is currently located.

Richard Acosta faces up to life in prison without the possibility of patrol when he's sentenced.

"We are only halfway to justice. The search continues," the Garland Police Department said in a statement of the father being found guilty of murder. "We will not stop until [his son] Abel Acosta is captured."